Photographer Documents the Different Types of Student Housing Around the World

If a dorm wall could speak, you would very likely hear volumes. A dorm or dormitory is the repository of all that we associate with collegiate life. The endless study sessions, the annoying roommate, lonely nights homesick, and quiet but wild partying. Ofcourse, let’s not forget that naughty sneak-in of your boyfriend or girlfriend, whichever the case may be. Dorms represent freedom, moving up a level in the world as we are allowed more independence, while also owning up to more responsibilities. It is a rite of passage that is so indelibly linked with college life. It is a part of growing up that is perhaps as cherished as the high school prom or a varsity team membership. A Dorm will always be remembered with extreme detail and with much sentiment.

Photographer Henny Boogert has been taking photographs of students in their dormitories, and calls the series Images Connect. It is an international photo project that examines the differences or similarities of dorms the world over. Not surprisingly, there is not much distinction.

Students regardless of creed or location share the same goals of social mobility, successful careers or some modicum of achievement. For Boogert, their dorms, which are so alike no matter in what country, is a symbol of the universality of all students’ aspirations and dreams.

He visited a total of 10 countries to take his pictures. These places were Kenya, Russia, Moldova, Cuba, Bolivia, the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Italy and his native country of the Netherlands. While he had initially thought he chose a diversity of countries and cultures, what emerged were surprisingly universal conditions, “A bed, a small seating area, some posters on the wall and clutter on the ground,” said Boogert.

Boogert however did not stop there. He assembled together a small page regarding each person photographed, sometimes even an accompanying video depicting these students in their daily lives.

To be able to see the entirety of the work in Images Connect, just click here.

I am a freelance photographer who is no stranger to smudged lenses, long hours in front of the computer, heavy camera bags (and the back aches that ensued) and missing lens caps. If you know what I'm talking about, you probably have as much love and passion for photography as I do.